Metaxas, Theodore; Deffner, Ale; Chalkiadaki, Marigianna

Conference Paper

City marketing: Development plan for the municipalityof Heraklion, Crete

53rd Congress of the European Regional Science Association: "Regional Integration:Europe, the Mediterranean and the World Economy", 27-31 August 2013, Palermo, Italy

Provided in Cooperation with:European Regional Science Association (ERSA)

Suggested Citation: Metaxas, Theodore; Deffner, Ale; Chalkiadaki, Marigianna (2013) : Citymarketing: Development plan for the municipality of Heraklion, Crete, 53rd Congress of theEuropean Regional Science Association: "Regional Integration: Europe, the Mediterraneanand the World Economy", 27-31 August 2013, Palermo, Italy, European Regional ScienceAssociation (ERSA), Louvain-la-Neuve

This Version is available at:http://hdl.handle.net/10419/123967

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City Marketing: Development Plan for the municipality of Heraklion,

Crete

M. Chalkiadaki1, A. Defner2, T. Metaxas3

1Architectural Engineer, Graduate of the postgraduate studies ' Program

Planning-regional planning, University of Thessaly, Volos, 38334 Volos,

Greece, email: chalkiad@uth.gr

2Associate Professor, Department of planning and regional development,

University of Thessaly, Volos, 38334 Volos, Greece, email:

adeffner@prd.uth.gr

3Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, Volos, 38334

Volos, Greece,

email: metaxas@econ.uth.gr

SUMMARY

During a period commonly marked by globalization and the economic crisis, cities

are looking for new ways to become competitive by projecting their comparative

advantages. However, the competitiveness of a city cannot be supported only through

spatial planning regulations. For this reason, the preservation, enhancement and

promotion of particular urban characteristics that make them cities unique are the fixed

strategies of cities in their struggle to establish themselves in their users’ preferences.

The so-called City Marketing strategic plan stands for the main weapon of city’s image

improvement strategy.

The City Marketing is not just a means of bringing out a city at a wide audience. It is

a tool that can help cities to redefine their identity thus, direct their development in

accordance with a common vision. Τoday ,City marketing is as useful as ever .

In this way, there was an attempt for a marketing plan for the municipality of

Heraklion, (Crete) to be carried out through the contemporary definition of a City

marketing plan. Through this plan the pros and cons of Heraklion City were stipulated

along with the needs and desires of all the affected population groups in order to

formulate the vision, the objectives and the implementation of these strategies. The

conclusion is the branding of the city, which aims to promote the identity of the

municipality of Heraklion.

Keywords: globalization, crisis of Identity, Competitiveness, Cities, Heraklion, City

Marketing, Branding the city

1. INTRODUCTION

The new data that the changes of seasons have begotten in human societies inevitably

expanded the concept and scope of marketing, resulting in the inclusion of businesses,

larger-scale organizations or organized groups (towns). City marketing, in its present

form, is an innovative dimension of marketing that seems to be the "lifeblood" of a city

for its survival in the modern competitive environment (Davidson and Rogers, 2006).

The aim and at same time the challenge of the city marketing process is to

strengthen the city’s ability to adapt to the ever changing market conditions by taking

advantage of the opportunities presented in order to maintain vitality (Kotler et al.,

1993).

However, a city marketing plan that seeks to revive the city must primarily examine

if the changes that will occur are to improve the standard of living of its residents.

Therefore, the City Marketing aspires to satisfy the expectations of the target-markets, by

having as a reference point the improvement of the quality of life of residents of the city

(Kolb, 2006).

At the same time, the City marketing much as the City Branding, are two fields

established to make the cities identifiable. In other words, through the process of city

branding, the city itself is after an "identity". After all, the image of a city is a set of

ideas, beliefs, and impressions that people have for this city. Each city bears a unique

combination of features that will make it stand out from the rest and gain its own "unique

identity" (Kavaratzis, 2005).

The City Branding should be based on strong but simple ideas that will answer to the

unique qualities and characteristics of the city. It is not just a logo. When a city decides

its Brand, then will be able to make the image, services and all its messages consistent

and coherent with this Brand. For this reason, the cities’ branding requires a broad

understanding of their spatial effects. The City Branding is proposed as the most

appropriate way to describe and apply the City Marketing (Kavaratzis, 2008). City

marketing and City Branding are different kinds of action with special methodology and

techniques but at the same time they seem to be inter-related complementary elements

for the emergence of a city (Metaxas, 2010).

2. BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE EXAMINED REGION

Today Heraklion occupies a prominent place in the prefecture of Heraklion not only

as the capital but also as the headquarters of the region of Crete .Heraklion is in the

Centre of the northern coast of the island of Crete. It is a central transportation hub with

the international airport "Nikos Kazantzakis", first in Charter flights (charter) and the

commercial-passenger port. Consequently, the majority of tourist traffic pass from

Heraklion at least twice. In addition, the port constitutes a main transit, trade and

transportation centre for passengers and local products.

Heraklion is the capital of the island-the largest city of Crete and the 4th largest city

of Greece. It is a modern city that combines the features of a big city and where the

historical centre clusters a large number of residents and almost all its administrative

services. In addition, in the city centre there are several entertainment infrastructures

many of which are hosted either in historic buildings preserved in the city centre or in the

old market of Heraklion, which houses in local products stores, small cafes and

restaurants. Even today, the old market remains a very special part of Heraklion, with its

abreast little shops, always bustling and so charmingly old-fashioned. The Central ' old '

market is in the heart of the city, where between or within the stores someone can always

discover hidden remnants of the old city of Heraklion.

Over recent years the city has changed and now is radically changing its profile by

putting more emphasis on quality of life issues for the resident and the visitor of the

historical centre of the city. The market seems to be very satisfactory in terms of quality

and sufficiency of goods (local, domestic or imported). Additionally, Heraklion hosts

high ranking Academic, Technological and research institutes of important and valuable

research work with international recognition. The Departments of the University of

Crete, the Technological Educational Institute of Crete, the Foundation for Research and

Technology, the Scientific and Technological park of Crete rounds up a large number of

students. The various museums (Archaeological, Historic, Battle of Crete, and Natural

History) and the archaeological site of the Minoan Palace of Knossos attract, at annual

level, thousands of visitors, domestic and foreign.

Issues of cultural and artistic interest (festivals, exhibitions, etc.) find expression

through organized events of various institutions and cultural organizations. The image of

entertainment is completed through quality film screenings and various theatrical

performances from Cretan repertories that are often given in especially landscaped areas

(operational programme for the Municipality of Heraklion 2011-2014).

3. IN PURSUANCE OF IDENTITY

By following the modern City Marketing philosophy that argues that the lasting

satisfaction of needs of the affected population groups of a place is the cornerstone for

the development, it was necessary to conduct field research for the Municipality of

Heraklion, Crete. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the existing situation

of the town creates favourable conditions for habitation-investment-visiting and if the

further development of the tourist industry of Heraklion would be a conscious choice of

all of the above groups.

Extensive field research method is used to gather the opinions of all the population

groups that are involved in the city of Heraklion. The aim is to lay the foundations for a

city marketing plan which through a participatory process would verify its modern

conceptual content. More specifically, the work aims to extract clear and concrete

conclusions, in order to give answers to the questions of research by confirming or

rejecting the cases originally made. For this purpose it aims mainly to the following:

1. Investigation and identification of the characteristics of the city of

Heraklion.

2. Investigation and identification of those factors that according to estimations

of the residents, operators, businesses and visitors of Heraklion City help in

shaping the city’s image.

3. Determination of the vision for the city of Heraklion.

4. Investigation of the strategies of implementation for the vision and goals for

the city of Heraklion.

3.1. FIELD RESEARCH

Methodology – sample selection

The survey was conducted in the city of Heraklion during the period July-August

2012. The data collection was accomplished through the use of questionnaires which

were distributed to organizations of the Municipality of Heraklion, entrepreneurs of the

region, residents and visitors. The ragtag characteristics of the groups above imposed the

creation of four different types of questionnaires with corresponding sets of questions.

The questionnaires were divided as follows:

Questionnaire A : addressed to citizens and non-citizens, aged from 15 to >64

(172 respondents)

Questionnaire B: addressed to entrepreneurs whose business relates to

tourism, trade, services and alteration (70 respondents)

Questionnaire C: addressed to institutes(their members) such as the

Municipality of Heraklion, the Region of Crete, the Chamber of Commerce, the

Technical Chamber, the Economic Chamber, the Municipal Enterprise of Culture,

Tourism and Development of Heraklion (D.E.P.TA.I.), the Commercial

Association, the Heraklion’s Port Authority , the University of Crete, the

Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (F.O.R.T.H.), the Town

Planning for the Municipality of Heraklion, the Hotels’ Association and the

Labour Centre of Heraklion City (28 respondents)

Questionnaire D: addressed to tourists – visitors, Greeks and foreigners, aged

from 15 to > 64 (144 respondents [88 Greeks and 56 foreigners]).

500 set of questionnaires were given for completion was, 414 of which were

answered.

Conclusions drawn from questionnaires addressed to the citizens

Starting with the citizens of Heraklion it is observed that most of them perceive the

city’s strong traditional and cultural identity without the last bearing any significant

fame, but still the city’s existing fame seems capable of helping the creation of an

attractive depiction of the city. However, improvements are necessary. Essentially, it is

acknowledged that the city has remarkable cultural backgrounds in latent form, which if

exploited and accurately promoted would be able to consolidate a cultural profile for the

city of Heraklion.

The city of Heraklion shows relatively high levels of employment, since only the 6%

of respondents said they were unemployed. There is a clear preference of the citizens for

the promotion of tourism, and its direct financial return. This is the most important

factor to the citizens. However, they also consider that certain emphasis should be placed

upon the conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage, due to the historical and

monumental city's character, which is required to be maintained.

The existence of great historical monuments associated with the city but also the

exploitation of resources of E.U. for the development and support of cultural investments

and infrastructures are important advantages for the promotion of culture and tourism of

the city, along with the organisation of cultural or touristic events. In fact, many believe

that Heraklion city has the potential to offer short-term tourism and several cultural

activities. The field s of recreation, sightseeing and gastronomy are in a very good level

too.

But, as a matter of fact a significant percentage believed that particular emphasis

should be also given to the educational, health, welfare and environmental

infrastructures. What the citizens are essentially seeking for the future is a clean city with

more pedestrian areas and open green spaces since the lack of them constitutes a "flaw of

the city’s image ".The citizens accentuate the need of a more pendant providence by the

city itself. At the same time, they would like the city of Heraklion to serve as an open

Museum of culture and history. In general, the citizens seem to appear divided on

whether all the aforementioned can be achieved since the 38% believes that the above

are likely to happen while the 37% believes that are quite likely.

Conclusions drawn from questionnaires addressed to institutions

The members of the several institutions not only believe that they dwell in a quite

energetic city, endowed with a historic and cultural reserve, but they are also claiming

that they are making the best of it through several strategies and politics of promotion.

As a matter of fact, the projects of touristic promotion through the cultural development

of the city are considered to be quite important as they induce major advantages to the

city, such as the production of positive economic results, the reduction of unemployment

and the increase of the GPD.

The members of the institutions likewise the citizens, envision a clean city with more

pedestrian areas and open green spaces while they are also seeking for a city that will be

an open Museum of culture and history since the history and culture of the city stands for

a unique worldwide phenomenon. Many believe that the city could become a cradle of

entrepreneurship. They appear optimistic about achieving their vision but puzzled about

the exploitation of resources of the E.U. for the development and support of upcoming

cultural investments and infrastructures.

Conclusions drawn from questionnaires addressed to enterprises

According to the entrepreneurs, the city of Heraklion can attract tourist and

commercial enterprises stemming mainly from the EU and the Eastern Europe. They also

envision a clean city with more pedestrian areas and open green spaces. What is more,

they believe that particular attention should be paid to stimulating the background history

of the city since the existence of great historical monuments associated with the city is a

major advantage for the culture and the tourism of the city. Last but not least, they hope

for a further emphasis to be placed upon the entrepreneurship. The majority of them

appear quite optimistic.

Conclusions drawn from questionnaires addressed to visitors

Several guests of all ages have a positive image for the city of Heraklion. The largest

percentage remained satisfied with their visit and this is a fact that may suggest a second

visit. As a matter of fact, most of them have already visited the city more than once.

Several have chosen the city of Heraklion for their family holidays, pointing out the

family orientation of the city. The answers of the participants state that the overall

picture of the hosting infrastructures with regard to the supply of services provided is of

high level along with the means of transportation which are also seemed to be considered

as rather convenient. Therefore, this statement could be translated into a positive

assessment of the accessibility and the direct access from and to the city.

As long as the availability of information services is concerned, most of the

respondents deem them from satisfactory to very good. In terms of customer services of

the city, the investigation has reached the following conclusions. Regarding the level of

service of museums and other attractions, the average responses ranged in a very good

level. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the fact that the Archaeological Museum of

the town remained closed until the August of 2012, stirred up a negative impression.

Concerning the availability of modern commercial markets, most of the respondents

rank the city of Heraklion to be fairly satisfactory. Ditto with the existence of financial

services and the quality of the services provided by restaurants, taverns and cafes. The

majority believes that Heraklion is most certainly not a clean a city with few green

spaces and parks but it can be improved. In terms of hospitality, the majority of the

respondents finds it excellent.

Finally, the major sources of information of the respondents forming their decision to

visit a particular destination seem to be their family and friendly environment t that

might dwell on the target area along with the Internet, mainly through the official

websites of the destination.

3.2. VISION AND OBJECTIVES

VISION: the transformation of the city into an open Museum of culture and history that

would respect and ensure a green development.

More explicitly this vision aims to the attraction of those who seek for the touring and

the wandering in a city whose history is lively beating within the pulse of everyday life,

"inside" and "outside" the buildings, in open or close spaces. This vision creates a mood

of wistfulness and offers alternative means of recreation and entertainment.

For the achievement of the above vision, some allocated objectives are set out

objectives, whose recording and documentation are listed below:

Utilization and enhancement of the existing cultural and historical heritage

Improvement of the aesthetics of the landscape

Protection from natural disasters

Promotion of local products

Claiming of the blue flag for beaches

Assuming significant events

The city's participation in nationwide festivals

Participation of the city of Heraklion in a broader tourism package

Renewable energy coverage

Creation of networks to cover any infrastructural deficiency

3.3. IMAGE AND SPECIAL FEATURES

The overall view shared by residents, institutions, entrepreneurs and visitors for the

city of Heraklion is that of a mixture of things, ideas and beliefs.

According to the extensive research of field ,the features that most certainly

characterize and ' remind of ' the city are the city’s introversion-even though it is an area

with a seaside front, the city is turning towards the Centre and not to the sea- the "chaos"

and "anarchy" of building and of transportation ,the culture, the primal history that

dates back to the period of the Minoan time; an era that has clearly left hidden traces

throughout the city in between the various historical monuments. The few and most of

the time "hidden" open green spaces are also quite important features, let alone their lack

constitutes the citizens’ most frequently stipulated inconvenience. What is more, the

special gastronomy-the so-called Cretan Diet-, the hospitality, the entertainment and the

commerce, which holds one of the most central roles in the city's economy, are also

considered to be rather important in the shaping of the identity for the city of Heraklion.

The determination of the final image of the city of Heraklion is as important, as the

clear identification of the target markets which the image of the city calls on. The called

on target markets are primarily the residents and visitors of the city.

4. The MODEL of 8P's

The marketing model that was used for the case of Heraklion is that of 8P's (8P's):

Product, Partnership, Pricing, People, Packaging, Place, Programming, Promotion

[Morrison, 1996/1999]. Below there is an analysis of the parameters of the model:

Product: The] product is the image of the city of Heraklion It is the designation of the

city through the “History”, the “Culture” and “Open spaces”. The combination of the

region's cultural reverse, the infrastructures and of the University of Crete could work

cooperatively in the creation of the city as an open Museum of history and culture. Such

a thing would give the city a very important and competitive role in the cultural and

Conventional venue. The projection of the city is based not only on clarity of vision and

the anticipated benefits for the region but also on the detection to identify the particular

regional features.

Partnership transactions: the creation of cooperation networks is the second most

important step after determining the product. It helps to better exploit the potential

arising from the combination of resources that the region offers. The development of

cooperation networks produces creative collective thinking and inspiration. Via such

methods common partnership problems can be addressed and sorted out even through

practices which have been already implemented in other cases. The cooperation with

corresponding institutions of adjoining cities promotes and advertises the place itself.

Through networking the area becomes choosable in a group of people who otherwise

might not have chosen it as a destination. Cooperation networks are categorized in 3

levels:

Internal networks (local)

External networks (regional, national)

Abroad networks (European, international)

Internal networks are collaborations between local agencies and services, i.e. within the city

and the municipality of Heraklion. External networks include collaborations between agencies,

institutions and associations of neighbouring municipalities and cities of the country with

common characteristics, region of Crete and University of Crete. Abroad networks include

collaborations with Mediterranean and European cities that share common features with the

region of Heraklion, networks with twin cities, maritime tourist networks (routes with cruise

ships) and others.

People: The people play a vital role in the design and implementation of a marketing

plan for the city. In this case, the main groups are the citizens and the guests. With regard

to the inhabitants of the region, they are divided into two subcategories: the permanent

residents-locals and the students”. The categories of residents and students are

significantly important, as the City marketing plan targets them, but at the same time also

depends on them. This particular group is an essential factor in the implementation of the

plan. After all, the supporting and collaboration of the group would actively assist the

practice of the planned actions. The second category includes the local visitors along

with the tourists of the surrounding areas. It should be noted that this category pertains

part of the entrepreneurs, investors and workers (agents) who will benefit financially

from the success of the marketing plan. The group of visitors is one of the main target

groups, for its size determines the success or the failure of the City marketing plan. More

specifically, because of the study's three axes of development, “history-culture-green ",

the targeted subgroups are: the scientific community (participants, researchers,

archaeologists, etc.), the artistic community (musicians, actors, dancers, filmmakers and

other artists) and the "green" community (environmentalists). These communities

include not only professionals but also amateur and fans.

Packaging: The “Packages” include those elements that must be viewed in order to make

the district competitive at regional, national, European and/or international level. In a

marketing plan, packages are particularly important, for they constitute the main way to

forward and promote the offered product/goods to the target markets. As long as the

particular marketing plan is concerned, the proposed packages, which are organized and

supported by the Advertising Office are:

History: historical reporting Package, “the paths of history to the street”

package: this one, includes the placing of electronic screens in historical parts of

the city, which would recount the history embracing the particular historical

points, “historical routes” package: routes in the city with points of reference to

the houses of renowned historical figures or the monuments or some other events.

Culture: “film screening” package, “theatre” package, “painting” package,

“the streets of the streets’ music " package: events and activities on the streets

with local and other genres of musical or artistic expression. Those genres

compose the musical tradition of the city, within parallel outdoor concerts and

performances," Cultural trail "Package: (museums and cultural spaces,

exhibitions), Conference packages, Packages of seminars-workshops,

Gastronomy Package: events and activities with traditional local products.

Green: “bicycle routes” Package: This package aims to arouse the ecological

consciousness: activities for stimulating open spaces with green (planting-

pedestrian walks-cleanliness), network traffic organization regional Package

around the Walls.

Place: a key step in the creation of a city marketing plan is to find and determine the

means and signs that would promote the forthcoming product without being fully

incorporated in the direct promotional process but rather in a more indirect one. What is

very important at this point is the partnerships that have been created. In the present

shown case the distribution channels are (according to the classification of cooperation in

internal and external networks):

Domestic distribution channels:

Projecting/Advertising Office of Heraklion City

Shops, hotels, restaurants, entertainment infrastructures and event halls in the

city affiliated with this promotion plan

Museums, exhibition halls, theatres and cinemas

The University of Crete

Tourist offices

Bus stations, port, airport

External distribution channels:

Twin cities with Heraklion

Domestic and international services of municipalities cooperating with the

municipality of Heraklion

Greek cultural foreign associations

European and international organizations associated with t "history-culture-

Green»

Museums and exhibition halls

Universities and research centres

Tourist offices

Train, bus stations, airports and harbours

Programming: programming lies in the creation of a general schedule. The detailed

composition of the schedule would have to assume the Office of city’s projection (as

discussed below). For the accurate planning, the time each guest spends in order to

attend the current events along with the appropriate time periods each event would be

conducted should be taken into consideration. The main criteria for the apt temporal

placement of the various packages take account of the period that the target groups visit

the city, the feasibility of the conducting of the events depending on the weather

conditions (outdoors/indoors events), and the reassurance of a balanced ratio of events in

order to avoid the challenge faced by the regional tourism industry, which is its seasonal

nature, in other words the creation of the so-called “dead-periods”. It is suggested for

the packages relating to the categories of "history-culture-green" and "external" events

to take place during the periods of April-June and August-October while the conferences

of the same categories is proposed to be organized during the winter months as such a

practice would not necessarily include outdoor activities. With such dispersion the

retention of interest in the area on an annual basis could be achieved.

Price: in this particular context the pricing of the offered product refers to all the

proposed packages, all the services provided by the city of Heraklion, and to the general

costs of the supplied product. The provided services would include technical services,

such as bus routes, exhibition and conference halls, museums, event venues and cultural

spaces. The admission fee to the sites should be decided after the collaboration of the

municipality and private citizens. More specifically, it is proposed for a “city card”, to be

issued. This card would be adapted to the citizens, the students and the unemployed. This

card would be based on a main “the more the less” concept. It is a discounted-

bonus(point collection) option arrangement under which any rights are granted to

subscribe-participate to any site or event at a price lower than the market value for those

who have attend a significant number of events or local places. This attempt could not

only increase the participation but could also promote the collective effort of the local

artistic groups. We recommend the study of cost-budget analysis for the promotion and

advertising of the region, for the organisation of specific activities and for the creation of

any necessary infrastructures and their staffing. The pricing of the provided services and

is packages also needed.

Promotion: For the implementation of the city marketing plan the establishment of an

institutional body would be necessary .Specifically a Marketing Office, responsible for

the enactment and monitoring of the plan. The main responsibilities would be the

promotion of the City marketing plan, as well as the responsibility for the organisation

and operation of the various activities proposed in the marketing plan. In addition,

another basic duty would be the setting of a timetable aiming to the equal distribution of

the various activities and events throughout the year. To this end, it must be ensured that

extremely well qualified people, with the relevant skills and experience, would join the

marketing Office, in order for the proper functioning and implementation of the viewed

policies to be fully operational. A crucial factor for the successful promotion of City

marketing plan is the continuous and direct communication and proper cooperation

between the Office of marketing and information Office (info points), as well as with the

other services of the city. In particular, the information office must distribute printed

informative materials for the visitors: the city’s map, thematic brochures to inform the

visitor about the cultural monuments and attractions, entertainment and gastronomy

brochures, the nearby destinations for daily trips, along with information for commercial

uses. At the same time, a special seasonal brochure should be distributed for presenting

the upcoming events and happenings that will be hosted in the city. The means that such

a plan will operate in order to promote its scopes are very crucial. On the same side is the

accurate choice of those means that would best report the city’s Marketing plan along

with its forthcoming actions to the relevant target market. The proposed means of

promotion of the project are featured below.

Table1. Featured promotional tools

Inside View

Advantages Disadvantages Geographical

scope

General In Particular

Internet

Social networking:

Facebook page

available at the

URL:

https://www.facebo

ok.com/ΗeraklionB

randingProject

Blog: available at URL:

http://heraklionbran

dingproject.blogsp

ot.com/

- High degree of

public selection,

-Interactive

-Media, relatively

low cost

-Not easily

accessible,

-Specific age

groups

Regional,

national,

European and

international

Radio

Broadcasting

commercials on

local radio stations

Selection of age

group Local scope Local scope

Newspapers-

Magazines

Monthly issued

magazine that

includes schedule of

events, articles on

important issues and

regional figures.

Use of the existing

logo in the local

magazines and

newspapers

Low cost

Small number of

the public

concerned

Local scope

Brochures-

brochures

Creation of

brochure as part of

the campaign,

information leaflets

for individual

events

Low cost Specific age

groups Local scope

Outdoor bulletin

boards-ads

Projection of

events placed in the

city

Low cost Specific age

groups Local scope

Tv

Promotion of the

advertising campaign on local business

channels in Crete and

the rest of the

country

-Wide range of buying public

-Easy

accessibility

Great cost Regional,

national

Source: Personal Assesment

5. BRANDING THE CITY OF HERAKLION

The existence of Branding is a necessary condition for the success of the marketing

plan. This approach uses three main ways of viewing: the creation of a Website in terms

of social networking (Facebook: HeraklionBrandingProject, available at URL:

https://www.facebook.com/IeraklionBrandingProject and blog available at URL:

http://heraklionbrandingproject.blogspot.com, the creation of a brochure and promotional

videos. The advertising campaign employed would aim at promoting "History-Culture

identity-Green" through the public familiarisation with the contents of this

characterization and information about events that are included. The web sitting process

is strategically chosen .Through a number of interactive processes, an up to date, well-

structured website-blog that illustrates the view of the city through photographs and

video streaming could sufficientlycontribute to the information of the visitors -readers

on the thematic events. On the other hand, the brochure as out-fashioned as it may be it

is still the most traditional means of promotion. The booklet is convenient while the

video streaming processes appeal directly to the emotional stimulation t and promotion

of the message through audio-visual challenges. Both strategies aspire to clearly

articulate the message that the city of Heraklion is a fertile ground where someone can

satisfy his interests concerning music, theatre, cinematographic arts and the letters.

The tagline that is engaged in this direction, is most certainly trying to incorporate all

the prominent elements of the city altogether, but at the same time it has to be utterly

precise in order to establish a rewarding first interaction within the target audience. The

Branding of the City of Heraklion uses the slogan: “Heraklion. Discover it. In you.”,

This tagline is an all inclusive conceptualization of those features that compose the

identity of the city of Heraklion and are at the same time individually underlaid (In you.).

And those are the features urged to be “discovered” (Discover it). In this context, it is

rather important for the logo to manage to create an immediate and recognizable image

in the mind of the recipient, by transmitting the elements that portray the city and its

vision. It is important to create a good lasting first impression. Subsequently, the logo

that is created aspires to highlight the “extroversion” of all the features that make up the

identity of the city of Heraklion and not the "introspection" that the city is currently

showing. The transition of the city of Heraklion from “introversion” to “extraversion” is

symbolically enunciated with the “opening up” of two square brackets1 -[ ]- ]--[, in a

way that they form the letter “Η”, the capital letter of the term “Heraklion”. The seven

1 Square brackets, [ ], are punctuation marks used within text for an explanation of a Word. The difference of the parentheses, ( ), is that the parentheses are illustrative elements that can be received while the brackets refer to nearby or distant elements that the author wants to

introduce and considered important. Why choose square brackets instead of parentheses in the logo of Heraklion, in that every feature of the town is highlighted because it is enclosed in it, cannot be received and are necessary for the emergence of the image and identity.

(7) coloured circles indicate the seven (7) features the city is bearing: the History, the

Culture, the Green, the Sea-cruise, the Gastronomy, the Entertainment and the

Hospitality.

Figure 15. Logo and Slogan for the city of Heraklion

Source: Personal Assesment

6. CONCLUSIONS

Ultimately, it seems possible to export a conclusion: the cultural creativity through the

implementation of a city marketing plan is an important factor for the revival of cities.

The case study of the city of Heraklion has confirmed the significance of the field

research method in developing a marketing plan that is acceptable by all the associated

units within the city’s population groups. In order to ensure its vision, objectives and

implementation of these strategies the city itself formulates the advantages and

inadequacies of the city as well as the needs and desires of all affected population groups

through a strategic marketing plan. The culmination of all this, is the branding of the city

which asks to redefine afresh the city’s identity. This identity consists of features which

are "enclosed" in every manifestation of the city but are not vocalised so far. In as much

as those are read and imprinted, there is a way for them to be projected or viewed.

And as Kazantzakis once told: “You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint

the paradise, and then in you go.

XS t a t h o p o u lo u F o t e in i

T r a n la t io n / T e x t e d it it in g - p r o o f in g

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